NOTHING BEATS THE BOSS...

...or Dancing in the Dark to his hits, says superfan JAMES RAMPTON, who's seen him over 30 times in concert and can testify to his brilliance, as a new documentary about the 50th anniversary of the Born to Run hitmaker's first UK concert airs on TV tonight

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OUR GANG of four - my wife, brother-in-law, sister-in-law and I are enjoying a beer on the Place du Général-de-Gaulle, the beautiful medieval main square in Lille.

Noticing our tour T-shirts, the two middle-aged Frenchmen on the neighbour ing table start up a conversation about our mutual love: Bruce Springsteen.

The Boss, as he is widely known, will play the following night at the Decathlon Arena on the outskirts of the northern French city.

We and our new friends may speak different languages and come from different countries, but at this moment, we have so much in common.

For the next hour, we talk animatedly about our undying devotion to the American musician. We are connected by the international language of The Boss. Passion for Bruce crosses all borders. It is the sort of heartwarming, shared experience that I have often enjoyed over the past half a century.

Tonight, a major new television documentary, When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain, conveys the fanatical devotion that so many of us - civilians and celebrities alike - continue to show. Featuring an interview with the legend himself, it's being shown to mark the 50th anniversary of his first UK gig at the Hammersmith Odeon, a concert that has long since passed into legend.

My own incurable addiction began as a 17-year-old when I first saw him live at Wembley Arena on The River Tour in 1981.

From the opening chords of the first song, Born to Run, I was in. The track's initial, euphoric hook electrified me. He had me at, "Tramps like us, baby, we were born to run." It was love at first riff.

Fast-forward 44 years and I am standing in the midst of 60,000 other Springsteen "stans" the slang term for a devoted fan in Lille, still singing my heart out to Born to Run. Age has not withered my obsession with The Boss. Every time I see him, I experience the same teenage kicks - so hard to beat.